It is with immense pleasure that the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) welcomes Kavita N. Ramdas to join the Board of Directors. At a time of increasing complexity and insecurity globally, when the work of ICAN and its partners—women peacebuilders in the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership (WASL)—is even more urgent and necessary, Kavita’s contributions and experiences will be immensely valuable.
Kavita is a globally recognized advocate for gender equity and justice and an independent philanthropic advisor and consultant. She recently completed a year as the Activist in Residence at the Global Fund for Women. In 2023 she served as a visiting professor at the Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs. Currently, Kavita is a Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy.
Kavita is a speaker and thought commentator on the challenges facing philanthropy and civil society as we strive for equitable and sustainable development and gender and racial equity. She provides high-level consulting advice and guidance on initiatives to defend democracy and protect human rights both within the U.S. and across the globe.
She recently completed an independent assessment of the United Nations’ ability to deliver on Gender Equality as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. As Director of the Women’s Rights Program at the Open Society Foundations, the foundation made its largest ever investment in gender justice with a $100 million commitment to the Generation Equality Forum in July 2021.
Kavita is also the founder of KNR Sisters, a consulting venture for social justice movements and philanthropy. Kavita’s previous leadership roles have included serving as Strategy Advisor for MADRE, an international women’s rights organization; Senior Advisor on Global Strategy and Representative for South Asia at the Ford Foundation; and President and CEO of the Global Fund for Women.
